As organisations increasingly transition to the cloud, cyber security practices shift to a cloud-based paradigm. Certified cloud security professionals have provided valuable advice to help you navigate in safe waters based on the technology, processes, and people. Cloud security training like the ISC2 CCSP is critical in preparing your team.
Cloud security is a key concern for organisations. This is because, according to the latest Thales Data Threat report, 98% of surveyed organisations have sensitive data in the cloud.
There is also the question of data sovereignty. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has reported that approximately 59% of Australian businesses use cloud technology, with much of this data stored by foreign cloud giants.
Organisations must turn to dedicated cloud-based security solutions to address cloud-related risks and challenges. Cloud security is also a key concern for cyber security professionals as they work to broaden their cloud skills to meet these challenges. Qualified cloud security professionals are essential for securely migrating to the cloud.
Best Practices for Secure Cloud Migration
To help organisations navigate in safe waters, Certified Cloud Security Professionals in the ISC2 community offered insights to consider when forming and implementing your cloud migration strategy.
Phase 1: Assess Your Current Infrastructure & Readiness
Once organisations have defined their business objectives and the strategy to materialise them by migrating to the cloud, they need to review their infrastructure and assess the feasibility.
1. Start with In-depth Analysis
Obtaining visibility into your organisation’s infrastructure, data, and applications is the foundation of every security policy. You need to deeply understand the application dependencies and perform a cost-based analysis to determine the actual cost of upgrading to the cloud versus the expected added value.
2. Rationalise the Assets
Organisations depend on applications to deliver services and products to their customers. Review and assess the feasibility of moving these applications to the cloud as some apps may be cloud-ready, while others must be modernised. Depending on the analysis results, you may need to opt-in for a hybrid deployment model.
3. Classify and Understand Your Data
It is essential to identify what and where your data is and assess their criticality and sensitivity. Once you have classified your data, you can select the appropriate safeguards. Corporate and personal information are lucrative targets for bad actors who always try to find gaps in data protection to steal or compromise data. They then use it to launch other attacks against corporate networks, such as impersonation or business email compromise.
4. Evolve Your Security
Your security will have to evolve with your infrastructure. Traditional, perimeter-based security controls are not adequate in a native cloud, multi-cloud, or hybrid environment. Assess your policies to understand which can be used for cloud security. Your cloud security posture should afford the same effectiveness as on-premises and address risks and challenges.
Establish a Plan
Following the assessment, businesses need to establish a solid plan for secure cloud migration. Assess the security solutions cloud vendors offer, and select the controls required to secure your apps and data in the cloud.
5. Security from the Outset
Cloud security should be designed and implemented in your solution from day one. Evaluate the security protections each cloud migration service provider offers. Remember that you are responsible for protecting your data and applications in the cloud. Consider encryption, access controls, firewall configuration and API configuration in every cloud security migration strategy.
6. Security in Every Component
Avoid vendor lock-in. Opt for multi-cloud architectures, as cloud providers offer native security solutions that work seamlessly in their infrastructure and environment. Select a vendor-agnostic, cloud-based security solution to protect and monitor every component of the cloud.
7. Understand Dependencies
Your in-house applications and data have dependencies that need to be reviewed and understood. Communications and interfaces to other services and reliance on internal or external workflows need to be evaluated and redesigned for scalability in a cloud environment. Failure to do so may result in costly service breakdowns.
8. Take a Phased Approach
Cloud migration is not a one-off exercise. It needs careful planning, with well-defined phases and expected outcomes. Establish measurable deliverables and closely monitor each migration phase. Consult with your cloud provider’s senior technical staff for the best approaches.
9. Review What to Look For in Different Systems
Different cloud products offer different security. What should organisations have on their checklists? We share insights on what to look for in a cloud security system.
Consider the Security Risks
Configuration errors, weak identity and access management, and poor authentication and authorisation controls are credible risks with any cloud migration. Certified cloud security professionals can be invaluable in mitigating risks.
10 Understand the Attack Surface
Cloud migration will alter your threat surface. Corporate boundaries will blur and new risks and challenges will emerge. Failure to understand your attack surface will result in security oversight and gaps in policies and practices.
11. Cloud Security Is Unique – Rethink Processes
Cloud security is a unique environment, where changes happen overnight. You cannot view your environment as a binary one, where everything is “secure” or “not secure.” Rethink security procedures and processes and take them to the cloud to avoid bottlenecks.
12. Risks and Responsibility Remain
Data and application security in the cloud is the sole responsibility of the cloud customer. While the cloud provider assumes responsibility for the cloud, you are responsible for protecting your customers’ data in the cloud. This is the foundational principle of cloud security. Failure to understand the Shared Responsibility Model results in costly data breaches.
13. Ensure Strong Encryption
When it comes to data security in cloud environments, the key overriding principle is to encrypt everything. We cannot overemphasise this enough. This includes design and implementation measures to safeguard your encryption keys. A compromised key opens the door to your data.
Prepare and Maintain Compliance
GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, PCI DSS and other sector-specific regulations mandate security and privacy requirements to safeguard sensitive and personal data. Organisations need to thoroughly understand all regulatory requirements and be prepared to prove compliance.
14. Responsibility Does Not Get Outsourced
Just like you are responsible for security in the cloud, you are also legally bound to mitigate the effects of a cloud-related data breach. You cannot outsource the impact of a data breach. Selecting the appropriate controls can help you minimise the risk and impact of a security incident.
15. Get Guidance from Auditors
If your organisation operates in a highly regulated environment such as the healthcare, finance, or energy sectors, seek guidance from your compliance auditors.
16. Relevant Legislation at Storage Locations
National and transnational privacy and security legislation have defined requirements for data portability. They define protections for data residing in their territory. Fully understand these security and privacy regulations to design your security policies and controls to ensure compliance and avoid costly penalties.
Prepare Your Team
The lack of appropriate cloud security training is a barrier. In recent years, organisations have realised the power of having security teams that fully understand all things cloud. Explore ISC2 CCSP training.
17. Assess Roles and Responsibilities
Agile and DevOps teams, the convergence of IT and Operational Agile and DevOps teams, the convergence of IT and Operational Technology (OT) and cyber-enabled Industrial Control Systems (ICS) require changing the security mindset. Security risks in the cloud are operational risks and must be addressed by all corporate stakeholders. This new mindset requires an assessment of current roles and responsibilities to make them consistent with flexible, scalable cloud environments.
18. Create a Dedicated Cloud Team
A multidisciplinary cloud team will enable a smooth and secure transition from traditional business functions to cloud-enabled, flexible, scalable, secure, and cost-effective operations. Evolving together with technology will ensure that organisations are always up-to-date, resilient, and able to meet the shifting changes in the global environment.
19. Robust Team Knowledge and Skills
You cannot have effective cloud security without the people required to enforce policies and practices. Security depends on people, processes, and technology. A robust and knowledgeable cloud security team can balance security and user experience.
20. Create a Dedicated Cloud Team
A multi-disciplinary cloud team will enable a smooth and secure transition. Go from traditional business functions to cloud-enabled, flexible, scalable, safe and cost-effective operations. The team will oversee the initial migration to the cloud and enable the innovation and adoption of cutting-edge cloud solutions in close cooperation with the cloud providers’ senior technical staff. Evolving together with technology will ensure that organisations are always up-to-date, resilient and able to meet the shifting changes in the global environment.
ISC2 CCSP Training with Lumify Work
Cloud migration can become problematic if it does not come as a result of careful consideration and planning. Certified cloud security professionals have provided their valuable advice to help you navigate in safe waters, which is based on the technology, processes, and people.
The ISC2 Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP) certification is vendor-neutral, and the acquired knowledge can be applied across a variety of cloud platforms, ensuring the ability to protect sensitive data in a global environment.
Lumify Work is one of only a few select training providers in Australasia offering official ISC2 courseware and materials. Enquire about the Certified Cloud Security Professional (CCSP®) course in Australia.
Access our brochure on cyber security training courses. Learn more about ISC2 cloud security training here.
